Posted on 03/24/2005 10:53:46 PM PST by Bigfitz
Congress and the Bush administration could still save Terri Schiavo – if they would simply enforce legal subpoenas that were issued last week demanding that Congress be allowed to interview Terri and others in the controversial matter.
Those Congressional subpoenas, however, have been wantonly ignored by a Florida state judge and local authorities in a brazen act.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Those Congressional subpoenas, however, have been wantonly ignored by a Florida state judge and local authorities in a brazen act.
But experts say they could still be enforced by federal marshals if the U.S. Justice Department sought to act.
As the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to act on Terri Schiavo's parents' desperate emergency petition to have the starving hospice patient's feeding tube replaced, the subpoeanas could give some flickering hope for a life-giving reprieve.
These all-but-forgotten subpoenas - if finally honored - could still force authorities to preserve the life of Schiavo, without question the most vital witness in hang-fire Congressional hearings delving into her treatment and the treatment of all incapacitated adults.
On Friday, March 18, the House Government Reform Committee issued subpoenas to Terri Schiavo, her husband, Michael Schiavo, and selected doctors and employees of her hospice, ordering them to appear at a congressional hearing March 25.
The subpoenas also pointedly required Schiavo's doctors to maintain a key piece of evidence - the medical equipment keeping her alive "in its current and continuing state of operations."
At that time, the committee also made it clear that the Schiavo probe was but part and parcel of a larger Congressional inquiry into "the long-term care of incapacitated adults."
Almost simultaneously, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee formally invited Michael and Terri Schiavo to testify on Monday, March 28.
For sure, when Congress started ripping forth its Schiavo subpoenas, plenty of legal pundits cried foul:
# "It's simply outrageous," said Charles Fried, a law professor at Harvard who served as the solicitor general in the Reagan administration. "It is abusive and disgraceful. Even a senator has an obligation to use his power honestly and not to engage in subterfuge and pretense."
# Stetson University law professor Charles Rose opined that if a congressional subpoena can be used to keep Schiavo alive, Congress would essentially have blanket power to overrule state courts. "If you do that, why have a state at all? Why not just have the federal government do everything? It's absolutely contrary to every principle of federalism."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., ominously reminded all parties that it is a federal crime for anyone to interfere with a person's testimony before Congress. (Allowing the chief witness, Terri Schiavo, to starve to death would, of course, be the most profound form of interference.)
But an unimpressed Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer was dismissive of Congressional power, ruling out of hand as to the legitimacy of the subpoenas.
"I don't think legislative bodies or agencies have business in a court proceeding. The fact that you - your committee - decided to do something today doesn't create an emergency," he wrote.
So far, Congress nor the Justice Department has moved against the judge for contempt charges – though he has clearly flouted Congress' long standing power to bring witnesses and evidence before it.
Despite Congressional subpoenas hanging over the case, the Judge moved to put Terri Schiavo to death and ordered her feeding tube removed.
Congress, Administration Caves to Judge
Instead of immediately moving to hold Greer and all subpoenaed parties in contempt of Congress after the Judge and others clearly had tampered with the witness and evidence, that is the feeding tube was removed, the House committee asked another lower state court to recognize the subpoena.
The House committee also quietly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order the feeding tube reinserted while it appealed in lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.
The Supreme Court would not issue such an order.
So, why hasn't Congress acted?
In fact, Congress has failed to begin even the most preliminary step – the reporting of a resolution declaring subpoenaed parties in contempt of Congress.
Inaction surprising in the face of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's pledge last week to hold Greer in contempt of Congress for ignoring a congressional subpoena for Terri Schiavo's testimony.
"No little judge sitting in a state district court in Florida is going to usurp the authority of Congress," DeLay said.
Indeed, Senator Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist is on record, saying that subpoenas compelling Terri Schiavo to appear at a March 28 congressional hearing make it a crime to disconnect her feeding tube - and threatened anyone who interfered with her testimony with jai.
"Federal criminal law protects witnesses called before official Congressional committee proceedings from anyone who may obstruct or impede a witness' attendance or testimony," Frist said.
He continued: "More specifically the law protects a witness from anyone who - by threats, force, or by any threatening letter or communication - influences, obstructs, or impedes an inquiry or investigation by Congress. Anyone who violates this law is subject to criminal fines and imprisonment."
According to the rules, in order to be convicted of contempt of Congress, the congressional committee subject to the contempt first must report a resolution that the affected individual is guilty of contempt. This takes a majority vote of the committee. The full House or Senate then must approve the resolution, which sends the matter to a federal attorney, who may call a grand jury to decide whether to indict the affected individual, and prosecute - if the grand jury returns an indictment.
Often such a procedure would take time. But Congress demonstrated in its recent Schaivo bill it can move quickly to pass a law and present it to the President for his signature.
Why did they bother issuing them in the first place?
A woman in starving to death by order of the State of Florida, and politicians everywhere are sitting on their hands watching it happen!
I dont know if I posted properly but I wanted to get this article out man the phone's and call up Congress and the Senate. If I did screw up this whole posting thing get over it.
Although I feel for Ms. Schiavo, I do not remember the President subpoening anyone. That charge could only be laid on the Congress, since Bush has nothing to do with Congressional Subpoenas.
Agreed...
I now question the fact that the Repubs will go for the so called "nuclear" option
What, can President Bush do to save this woman? I suppose he could send in the ATF like Mr. Clinton and Ms. Reno did in the Waco and Elian Gonzalez cases. In doing so, he would become a hypocrite. President Bush has done everything in his power to save this woman. To blame him is to be ignorant to the powers afforded to the Executive Branch.
It is also clear that the GOP as a party is responsible for her death, as the Democrats would have taken her out at gunpoint days ago if the situation were reversed.
The executive and legislative branches cannot use law as it is clearly written, but judges can not only use the law any way they wish, they can manipulate it to mean whatever they want.
Certainly no one would dispute the law allows Congress to suboena witnesses, but in this case, this particular law is ignored by the judges as it interferes with their supreme authority to interpret the law?!?
Why? It is becoming increasingly obvious (and this post will likely be zotted before too many can read it) that the Congress wanted to use Terri's demise to illustrate judicial tyranny. Now, if Terri's death is to have great value (how twisted to be phrasing it that way), her plight had to make the world stage. But frankly, I think the same could have been accomplished by stepping in today (Thursday) to save her from dying! Alas, some are expediently sacrificed. I know the democrats are willing and eager to sacrifice Terri to forward political empowerment for their constituencies. But what of the Republicans? [I'm beginning to think Harkin appeared so sincere because he already knew how this Whittemore clinton appointee would rule on the passed law. Democrats are deceptive like that don'tchaknow.
And a few greenback dollars.
As an aside, it aappears to me that whatever else you can say about Judge Greer, and you sure can say a lot, and I'd agree with all of it, at least he has some stones.
It seems that all the power of the federal and state governments comes to naught aginst this glorified backwoods Justice of the Peace.
Rome2000 wrote: "As the Democrats would have taken her out at gunpoint days ago if the situation were reversed."
Actually, that would have been more humane than allowing her to die slowly as her body turns into beef jerky. Yet, can you imagine the outcry if someone would have walked in and blown Terri's brains out? That would have violated Lord Almighty Greer's chosen method of execution and would have probably earned the killer a murder charge.
We give our condemned murderers a painless and quick lethal injection, but we allow an innocent woman to die a slow death. I know, I know. Some doctors claim she won't feel any pain, but how do we know that for sure? When a person's life is on the line, you take the path of least risk to that life.
You don't start a fight if you don't intent to take it to the end. The Republicans were dragged in to Terri's fight last minute. Unlike the democrats, they have no stomach from fights unless its overseas.
When it comes to fighting our domestic enemies...the republicans are very French...
White flag...surrender...only its our rights and freedoms they are surrendering.
Time to give them a spine, then!
I believe that the Federal Marshalls, controlled by the Executive branch, are responsible for enforcing Congressional supoenas. This whole affair is yet another example of Republican politicians making much sound and fury at the judicial Mullahcracy - signifying nothing. Pure hot air.
The Republican oligarchs have much more important fish to fry - like destroying US sovereignty for their corporate masters. All of the action in the past week was just for show. If the Congress cited Greer for contempt, the Federal Marshals could march in and arrest him at gunpoint, hauling him away in shackles before the TV cameras. It will never happen - the Mullahs are far too useful. They can implement the globalist agenda by judicial fiat and be blamed for the rulings that make people furious, yet remain in place because Congress wouldn't dare to exercise its power to remove them from the bench. A very effective scam.
Marvin, I have become more and more reluctant to respond ( aside from posting a link or terse comment ) to almost anything I see on this board.
I've lost several long-time friends on this board over what I thought were innocuous remarks of mine.
But I will say this-- this whole affair has reinforced the wisdom of "put not your trust in the Princes of the World."
I'll still support, and vote, for those I think will best represent me & my country... but frankly, if by chance that means a "D" by their name, so be it. The "R's" and their Avatars have been a vast disappointment to me. Live & learn, I guess.
ABJECT MORAL COWARDICE..............
Absolutely. President Bush and Congress pass a law, then don't enforce it? Are they afraid of legal action? So what!!
When Bill Clinton lied to a federal grand jury, what reprecussions did he endure? He thumbed his nose at the entire country and is still worshipped by millions (ugh!).
This is saying more about the Bushes and Republicans than they seem to be aware of. As I see it, they are teetering on the edge of a great moral victory, or a dark slide into the pits of political irrelevance. And the future of the country hangs in the balance. What will follow, if they don't act, won't be pretty.
Of course protecting a helpless person from being killed by another isn't as important as keeping baseball players from voluntarily taking dangerous steroids so they can make tens of millions.
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